(Newser)
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Gunshots mingled with the sounds of fireworks over Chicago this weekend: 10 people were killed and 54 others were injured in shootings between Thursday afternoon and early today, reports the Chicago Tribune. Half of the casualties occurred during a nine-hour stretch from Saturday evening to early yesterday, according to police. Among the dead: a 7-year-old boy killed outside his home shortly before midnight on Saturday. Amari Brown was hit by a bullet "that was meant for his father," a known gang member who was standing on the front porch, police tell the Chicago Sun-Times.

"There were several people around that witnessed this heinous act, and we know somebody knows something," says the pastor of a church offering a $1,000 reward for information on the shooting. "The police cannot do it alone." "All the kids that are getting killed out here—it's crazy," a local adds. "When is it going to stop?" Police attribute the gun violence to "a broken system" in need of fixing. "Criminals don't feel the repercussions of the justice system," a cop tells CNN. Some 56 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the Memorial Day long weekend. Last year's July Fourth weekend saw 16 deaths among 82 victims.

That is horrible. That is a LOT of families who will be impacted by this violence. I'm glad I don't live in Chicago. They have got to get the people of Chicago under control. I'm glad to hear none of them were harassed by cops on their way to the killings the committed, though.